in 1742. He entailed his estates on the Hobarts and the Trevors, and his residence at Nocton, in Lincolnshire, was the chief seat of the earl of Buckinghamshire.

ELMACIN, or ELMAKYN, (George,) known in the East under the name of Ibn Amid, was born in Egypt in 1223, and died in 1273. He was a Christian. He was ketib, or secretary, to the court of the sultans of Egypt, a post generally filled by Christians. He is the author of an Arabian history, well known in Europe, commencing from the creation to the thirteenth century. Erpenius translated into Latin, and published a part of this work under the title of Historia Saracenica, quâ Res gestæ Muslimorum inde a Muhammide usque ad initium Imperii Atabecæi explicantur, Leyden, 1625. This history begins with Mahomet, and ends with the year 512 Heg. (1118 A.D.) The manuscript at Heidelberg, from which Erpenius made his translation, goes down so far as 573 Heg. (1197 A.D.;) but the death of Erpenius prevented his continuing it to the end. It was published under the superintendence of Golius, who added a preface. Reiske has pointed out many errors and mistakes of Erpenius; but it should be borne in mind, that he had only one manuscript to work from, and that a faulty one, and that oriental critical scholarship was then but in its infancy. ELMENHORST, (Geverhart, or Gerhart,) a critic, died in 1621. Voetius calls him "Virum diligentissimum et diffusissimæ lectionis." He published notes on Arnobius, on the treatise of Gennadius, De Ecclesiasticis Dogmatibus, and on Minucius Felix. He edited Proclus and Sidonius Apollinaris.

. ELMSLEY, (Peter,) born in 1773, was educated at Westminster, and afterwards entered Merton college, Oxford, where he took the degree of M.A. in 1797. He served for some time the small chapelry of Little Horksley, in Essex; but having, on the death of his uncle, Peter Elmsley, the well-known bookseller, succeeded to a large fortune, he devoted himself to literary research, and especially to Greek philology. He resided for some time at Edinburgh, and was on intimate terms with the distinguished individuals that in 1802 set on foot the Edinburgh Review. After his return from Edinburgh, he lived for some time in London, but in 1807 retired to St. Mary's Cray, in Kent. In 1816 he set out on a tour to Italy, in order to

avail himself of the assistance that the great European depositories of manuscripts could afford; and after his return, in 1817, took up his abode at Oxford. The whole of the winter of 1818 he spent in the Laurentian library at Florence. In the spring of 1819 he accepted a sort of commission from the English government, jointly with Sir Humphrey Davy, to superintend the development of some of the papyri found at Herculaneum. The experiment, however, having proved to be wholly abortive, he returned to England in 1820, and from this time lived almost entirely at Oxford. He was appointed principal of Alban hall, and Camden professor of history in 1823. He died in March 1825. He was intimately conversant with the history of religious opinion, and with all the details, however trifling, connected with the several churches of Christendom, and was deemed one of the best ecclesiastical scholars of the time. He had a great knowledge of the civil usages and institutions of different countries, and of history in general. The works of Elmsley are, 1. Articles in the Edinburgh Review: No. 4, On Heyne's Homer; No. 5, On Schweighauser's Athenæus; No. 35th, On Blomfield's Prometheus; No. 37th, On Porson's Hecuba. 2. Article in the 38th Number of the Quarterly Review, On Lord Clarendon's Religion and Policy. 3. The Acharnenses, 1809. 4. dipus Tyrannus, 1811. 5. Heraclidae, 1815. 6. Medea, 1818. 7. Bacchæ, 1821. 8. Edipus Coloneus, 1823. These editions established his fame throughout Europe as a judicious critic and a consummate master of the Greek language.

ELOY, (Nicholas Francis Joseph,) a physician, born at Mons, in 1714. He wrote, 1. Thoughts on the use of Tea, 1750. 2. An Historical Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Medicine, Mons, 1778, in 4 vols. 3. A Treatise on the Use of Coffee. He died in 1788.

ELPHINSTON, (William,) an eminent Scotch prelate and statesman, born at Glasgow, in 1431, or, according to another account, in 1437. He was educated in the newly-erected university of Glasgow, and in the twentieth year of his age became M.A. He then applied himself to the study of divinity, and was made rector of Kirkmichael. After continuing four years in this situation, he went to Paris, where he acquired such reputation in the study of the civil and canon law, as to attract the attention of the university; and he was advanced to

the professorship of civil and canon law, first at Paris, and afterwards at Orleans, where his lectures were attended by a great concourse of students. After nine years' study in France, he returned home at the earnest solicitation of bishop Muirhead, who made him parson of Glasgow, and official of his diocese; and as a mark of respect he was chosen rector of that university in which he had been educated. After the death of his patron, he was made official of Lothian, by archbishop Schevez, of St. Andrew's; and at the same time was called to parliament, and to a seat in the privycouncil. He soon became conspicuous as an able politician and skilful negotiator. In this capacity he was employed by James III. on an embassy to Louis XI. of France, in conjunction with Livingstone, bishop of Dunkeld, and the earl of Buchan. The French monarch was so charmed with his conduct and conversation, that he loaded him with valuable presents. When he returned home, he was made archdeacon of Argyle, in 1479, and soon after bishop of Ross; and in 1484 he was translated to the see of Aberdeen. His address in negotiation induced the king to send him as one of the commissioners from Scotland to treat of a truce with England, and a marriage between his son and the lady Anne, the niece of Richard III. On the accession of Henry VII. bishop Elphinston was sent to his court, with other ambassadors, to arrange the terms of a truce, which was accordingly settled for three years on July 3, 1486. The discontent of the nobles threatening to involve the country in a civil war, Elphinston mediated between them and the king; but finding it impossible to reconcile their jarring interests, he went to England about the latter end of 1487, to solicit the friendly interposition of Henry, as the ally of the Scottish king, who advanced him to the office of lord high chancellor of Scotland, which he enjoyed until the king's death, when he retired to his diocese. During the time he remained at Aberdeen he was occupied in correcting the abuses that had prevailed in his diocese, and in composing a book of canon law. But he was not long permitted to enjoy the calm of retirement, and was again called to the parliament that assembled at Edinburgh, October 6, 1488, to assist at the coronation of James IV. He was next sent on an embassy to the emperor Maximilian, with a proposal for a marriage between the king and Margaret,

the emperor's daughter. In his way home he settled a treaty of peace and amity between the states of Holland and the Scotch. In 1492 he was made lord privy-seal, and the same year appointed one of the commissioners on the part of Scotland, for the prolongation of the truce with England. The distractions of the state being appeased, he found leisure to attend to an object that he had long meditated, and which engrossed much of his thoughts. Religion and learning had been the chief pursuits of his life, and he wished to diffuse the influence of both over the north of Scotland. For this purpose he applied to the king to solicit the papal authority for the foundation of the university of Aberdeen, which was granted by a bull from pope Alexander VI., dated February 10, 1494. The college, called King's college, in Old Aberdeen, was, accordingly, erected in 1506. Besides the erection and endowment of the college, bishop Elphinston left ample funds to build and to support a bridge over the river Dee, and the sum he bequeathed for these two objects was 10,000 pounds Scots. He wrote a book of canons, some lives of Scottish saints, and the history of Scotland, from the rise of the nation to his own time, which is now preserved among Fairfax's MSS. in the Bodleian library. The death of James IV., who lost his life at Floddenfield, where the better part of the Scotch nobility shared a similar fate, so afflicted the mind of Elphinston, that he died soon after, broken hearted, at Edinburgh, on the 25th of October, 1514, while negotiations were pending with the court of Rome for his elevation to the primacy of St. Andrew's.

ELPHINSTON, (Arthur, Lord Balmerino,) was born in 1688. In the reign of queen Anne, he had the command of a company in lord Shannon's regiment; but on the accession of George I. he joined the earl of Mar, under whose standard he fought at the battle of Sheriffmuir. He afterwards served in the French army, but returned home in 1733. In 1744 he joined the chevalier de St. George, who appointed him captain of his second troop of life-guards. At the battle of Culloden he fell into the hands of the duke of Cumberland, was committed to the Tower, and on the 29th of July, 1746, was brought to trial in Westminster hall, together with the earls of Kilmarnock and Cromarty, both of whom pleaded guilty. The earl of Cromarty was pardoned; but the lords Balmerino and

Kilmarnock were executed on Towerhill on the 18th of August following. ELPHINSTON, (John,) a celebrated naval officer, was born in 1720, in the Highlands of Scotland. He entered the British navy at an early age, and acquired a great reputation for skill and courage. He was one of the officers placed by England at the disposal of Catharine empress of Russia, for the purpose of forwarding her plans on Turkey. He went to Russia about 1768, visited the harbours, superintended the various works, and contributed a great deal to the getting the Russian navy in a proper state of preparation. In the latter end of the year 1769 he took leave of the empress with an oath that he would take Constantinople, and conducted a Russian squadron to England, to wait for the spring. He did not, however, waste his time when here. He disciplined the sailors, manoeuvred his ships, and omitted nothing that might help him to put his grandiloquent threats into execution. In April 1770, he sailed for Greece, where he was joined by another squadron under admiral Spiritoff. Here a quarrel broke out. Elphinston claimed the right that his ship should bear the admiral's flag; but Alexis Orloff, who had the supreme command of the whole operations by land and sea, determined that that honour should be given to Spiritoff. While this was going on the news came that the Turkish fleet was off Scio. The Russian fleet was instantly in pursuit. A fierce battle ensued, and fasted till night, to the manifest advantage of the Russians. The Turkish fleet having then retired to the bay of Cisme, it was blockaded, and by the orders of Elphinston, most gallantly carried out by a British officer, burnt by means of a fireship. Elphinston then pressed the forcing of the Dardanelles; but Orloff, who detested him, seeing that this success would raise Elphinston's reputation to the highest pitch, refused to accede to the proposal. Elphinston then, with only his own ship, having passed the batteries, anchored in the strait; but being unsupported, he was obliged to rejoin the main fleet. The Turks took the alarm, and in a short time the Dardanelles were rendered impregnable. Elphinston, in a fit of rage, drove his ship on a rock, and proceeded to St. Petersburg, to pour out his complaints against Orloff. The empress, however, was not then in a mood to listen to them, and he departed for England, where he died in 1774.

ELPHINSTONE, (James,) a miscellaneous writer, born at Edinburgh, in 1721. He was educated at his native city, and was living there when the Rambler was coming out in single papers in London. He took charge of an edition of these essays, which followed progressively the London edition. He made translations of some of the mottoes to these papers, which were adopted by Dr. Johnson in a subsequent edition. This commendation gave him a fatal conceit of his powers of translation. He was much noticed and respected by Dr. Johnson, who addressed letters to him occasionally, two of which are given by Boswell. In 1751 he came to England, and set up a school at Kensington. He also published a translation of Martial, which was ridiculed by the wits of the day. In 1786 he published a work entitled 'Propriety ascertained in her Picture,' in which he endeavoured to establish a system of spelling according to pronunciation; and in 1794 he published, in six volumes, a selection of letters to his friends, with their answers, spelt in the new way. He died in 1809.

ELPHINSTONE, (George Keith, viscount Keith,) a distinguished naval officer, born in Scotland in 1746. After receiving a suitable education at Glasgow, he entered the service in February 1762, on board the Gosport, commanded by captain Jervis, afterwards earl of St. Vincent. He subsequently served in the Juno, Lively, and Emerald frigates, until the year 1767, when he sailed to China. In 1769 he proceeded to India, with commodore Sir John Lindsay, by whom he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Soon after his return to England, whither he had been sent with important despatches, he was appointed to the flagship of Sir Peter Dennis, commander-inchief in the Mediterranean; and in 1772 was advanced to the rank of commander, in the Scorpion, of 14 guns. His commission as post-captain bears date March 11, 1775; and his first appointment as such appears to have been to the Marlborough, of 74 guns, stationed at Portsmouth, from which ship he soon after removed into the Pearl, and afterwards into the Perseus frigate, and served in her on the coast of America, under lord Howe and admiral Arbuthnot. At this time he was returned as knight of the shire for the county of Dumbarton. At the reduction of Charlestown he commanded a detachment of seamen on shore. He was also present at the attack on

On the re-commencement of hostilities, in 1803, he was appointed commander-inchief of all his majesty's ships employed in the North Sea, and in the English Channel. In the beginning of October 1803, he made an experiment on a small scale, with a new mode of attack on the gun-vessels in Boulogne, which, to a certain degree, succeeded, and without any loss being sustained on our part. On the 9th of November, 1805, he was raised to the rank of admiral of the White; and in 1812 he succeeded Sir Charles Cotton in the command of the Channel fleet. In May 1814 he was created a viscount of the United King. dom. During the period of the second invasion of France by the allied powers, he commanded in the Channel, and by the judicious arrangement of his cruisers secured the person of Napoleon Buonaparte. Lord Keith died on the 10th of March, 1823, in the seventy-seventh year of his age.

In

ELRINGTON, (Thomas,) a distinguished mathematician and classical scholar, born in Ireland. In 1781 he was elected a fellow of Trinity college, Dublin; and in 1794 he was chosen the first Donellan lecturer, when he took for the subject of his lectures, The Proof of Christianity derived from the Miracles recorded in the New Testament. These lectures were printed in Dublin, in 8vo, 1796. In 1795 he was chosen professor of mathematics; and on the 25th of December, 1806, he was presented to the rectory of Ardtrea, in the county of Tyrone, and diocese of Armagh. 1811 he was appointed provost of Trinity college. In the year 1820 he was consecrated bishop of Limerick; and he was translated, in 1822, to the see of Leighlin and Ferns. He published an edition of Euclid, enlarged with notes, which is now the text book in the Dublin University. He also published an edition of Juvenal, illustrated by notes critical and explanatory. He likewise wrote, Reflections on the Appointment of Dr. Milner as the political agent of the Roman Catholic Clergy of Ireland, 1809, 8vo; The Clergy of the Church of England truly ordained, 1809, 8vo; and some other pamphlets. He died at Liverpool, in July 1835, from the effects of sea sickness, and his remains were deposited in the vaults of Trinity college, Dublin.

ELSHEIMER, (Adam,) a painter, born at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, in 1574. He was at first a pupil of Uffenbach's, and then went to Rome, where he acquired a

great reputation. He painted principally landscapes and night pieces. His best works in this country are at Petworth, in Sussex, the seat of the earl of Egremont. Elsheimer died in 1610.

ELSHOLTZ, (John Sigismond,) an eminent Prussian botanist, was born at Frankfort-on-the-Oder, in 1623, and died in 1688. He was appointed by Frederic William of Bradenburgh to be his first physician, and director of the botanical garden at Berlin. He published, 1. Flora Marchica. 2. A work on matters belonging to gardens, in which he treats of flowers, shrubs, tools, &c. This was much esteemed in Germany, and passed through many editions. 3. A Treatise on Aliments. In this he discusses vegetable and animal food, sauces, seasonings, &c.

ELSNER, (James,) a divine, was born in Prussia, in 1692, and died in 1750. He was appointed in 1722 rector of the college of Joachimsthal, at Berlin, and preacher at the Metropolitan Reformed church. The works on which his reputation principally depends, are those by which he has endeavoured to explain and illustrate the New Testament, by profane authors and the monuments of antiquity. They are, 1. Observationes Sacræ in Novi Fœderis historicos Libros : tomus i. Libros historicos complexus; tomus ii. Epistolas Apostolorum et Apocalypsin complexus. This work gave rise to a controversy with Stoer. 2. The Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians explained. He also wrote, A new Description of the State of the Greek Church in Turkey, and other works on theology and antiquities.

ELSTOB, (William,) an antiquary, born at Newcastle upon-Tyne, in 1673, was the son of a merchant there. He was admitted of Catharine hall, Cambridge, but afterwards went to Oxford, and was elected a fellow of University college. He was appointed rector of St. Swithin and St. Mary Bothaw, in London, where he resided till his death. He published, in 1703, an edition of Ascham's Latin letters at Oxford. He wrote An Essay on the great Affinity and mutual Agreement between the two professions of Law and Divinity. He formed a design of producing an edition of the Saxon laws, with great additions, and a new Latin version; together with notes of various learned men, and a prefatory discourse on the origin of the English laws, and their progress down to the Magna Charta. He had made some pro